Spied here, heavily disguised under stretched and widened Jetta bodywork, is a mule housing prototype components for two cars: Volkswagen’s New Compact Sedan and New Mid-Size Sedan. Both will spearhead the company’s attack on Japanese and Korean dominance of the import sector in the U.S. market.

It is VW’s ambition to become the number-one global carmaker, surpassing even the Toyota juggernaut. To reach that goal, obstacles need to be overcome, a major one being the brand’s lackluster performance in the U.S. Due to misguided product policies and the occasional severe quality problem, VW has dropped off the radar screen for many customers—if it was even there in the first place.

Both the NCS and NMS sedans will be built on Volkswagen’s modular transverse platform, a new architecture that the company claims will carry as many as 130 different body variations across its brands, including the VW Rabbit, Eos, Passat, and Audi A3. The NCS will be developed mainly for the U.S. market, and it may retain the well-established Jetta moniker. The larger NMS is intended to simultaneously satisfy U.S. and Chinese tastes, so beware of chrome and ostentation. It won’t go to Europe, where the next Passat will be aiming to make life difficult for the BMW 3-series and Mercedes-Benz C-class.

Why is VW walking away from global cars, especially at a time when other automakers are globalizing? The company feels that American and Asian customers don’t appreciate the refinement of its current offerings. “U.S. customers look at car size and engine displacement. They won’t pay a dollar extra for a Passat over the Camry just because of its finesse and attention to detail,” a company executive told us in Wolfsburg. And he was concerned the NCS and NMS might still be too costly to produce compared to their Asian competition.

Indeed, the Passat, despite its merits, doesn’t come close to the sales success of the Honda Accord or Toyota Camry, but the Jetta has consistently done well in the U.S. Europeans find it hard to believe, but the Jetta enjoys an aura of coolness here, a reputation enhanced by performance versions such as the GLI, which was never available in the Old World. In Europe, the Jetta has always been viewed as an old folks’ car; it hasn’t sold well and was renamed twice as the Vento and the Bora before VW ruefully (and without much effect) reverted to the original moniker.

While the NCS and NMS are developed with strict cost-cutting targets, there is no reason to be concerned about a lack of capability on the road. The rather agricultural but still competent 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine is expected to carry on; for real fun, look for different variations of VW’s turbocharged 2.0-liter TSI engine and the 2.0-liter TDI turbo-diesel. VW could also bring the highly efficient 1.4-liter TSI to the U.S. Dual-clutch transmissions will replace the current automatic gearbox, and all-wheel drive is a possibility.

The New Mid-Size Sedan will be built at VW’s Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant. The New Compact Sedan, which shares its platform, could be made there as well. Both vehicles will be available in 2010 as 2011 models.

We expect to get more technical details and information about styling direction shortly, so stay tuned.

Article source: http://www.caranddriver.com/news/spied/08q4/2011_volkswagen_jetta_ncs_and_nms_u.s.-market_sedans-spied

Back in 1994, Audi tapped the engineering expertise of Porsche to develop the mad but engaging RS2, a 311-hp station wagon. Its 2.2-liter turbocharged engine was memorable for fierce reactions, big noise, and an uncompromising character. But when the RS2 (C/D, May 1994) concluded its limited run and the Audi 80 turned into the A4, we had to wait five years for the next "super Quattro"—the S4. Alas, that car (C/D, September 1999) somehow didn’t seem so mad: 250 horsepower from a twin-turbo 2.7-liter V-6, basically the same powerplant you’d find in the docile and luxurious A6 2.7T. That meant it was quick but also civilized: quiet, easy to drive, not really an Ingolstadt hot rod.

Comes now the RS4 Quattro, the most powerful production Audi yet unleashed, producing 375 horses from its rather-more-stressed 2.7-liter V-6. Cosworth Technology, a division of Audi since last year, has tweaked the intake and exhaust flow to the five-valve heads. What’s more, the crankshaft, the connecting rods, and the pistons are beefed up to withstand the larger KKK turbos. The result is a steady 325 pound-feet of torque from 2500 to 6000 rpm.

That stream of power definitely commands your attention. Launched properly, this little wagon claws its way to 62 mph in 4.9 seconds, and the speedo will show 100 mph in a sniff less than 12 seconds. Although a chip limits top speed to 155 mph, Audi’s engineers say they regularly saw 179 during testing at Nardo.

Officially, the RS4 is made not by Audi but by Quattro GmbH, the company’s in-house subsidiary that assembles cars to custom order. Alas, no RS4s are headed for America. The car’s short life span means that the cost of U.S. certification cannot be justified.

At roughly $63,000, the RS4′s price in Germany is steep but not colossal, and unlike the upcoming BMW M3—probably this Audi’s closest competitor—the car comes as a wagon only, ensuring that golden retrievers throughout Europe will be treated to riveting demonstrations of speed. It’s not often you see a wagon with emphatically flared wheel arches and a pair of ducts funneling air to inter-coolers. All the body panels, save the hood and roof, are unique.

Naturally, the suspension is lowered and stiffened, and the enlarged brakes (the front rotors measure an immense 14.1 inches) are state-of-the-art racing versions. The ride is borderline harsh, and the tires sing on anything but mirror-smooth tarmac, but the handling is sharper than any A4′s to date.

The old RS2 perpetuated the notion that heavily turbocharged engines had two distinct phases—languid and explosive. Now, however, the RS4′s 30-valve V-6 is unobtrusive and silent at low revs, building to its maximum output smoothly and progressively with virtually no lag. Acceleration is effortless in the way of, say, big V-8-powered Benzes, so that passengers are often unaware of the speeds being summoned.

The RS4 is a good car, perhaps a great one, but the passage of time—plus the evolution of electronics—has taken some of the wonder and excitement out of limited-edition hot rods such as this. The RS4 is efficient, quick, and easy to operate, rather than wild, colorful, and delinquent—traits that have imbued Audi’s specials in the past.

Article source: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/00q3/2000_audi_rs4_avant_quattro-mini_test_road_test